Sustainability Score and Rating
We analyze funds according to 4 main measures (or categories) summed in a sustainability score:

Research Quality
Are appropriate processes implemented and resources allocated in order to guarantee the sustainability quality of the fund?

Portfolio Quality
Does the portfolio offer an added sustainability value in comparison to a standard portfolio?

Engagement
Does the fund exercise its voting rights, dialogue with portfolio companies on sustainability issues?

Transparency
Are all relevant financial and non-financial data publicly available? What is the level of cooperation during the assessment process?

Sustainability Diamond
Visualization of our 4 rating measures in a diamond, standard and easy to read for all funds.

The lines linking the fund performance in each of the 4 measures display the sustainability performance of the fund as a net which is compared to the one of the median fund.

The sustainability rating is then calculated by an aggregation and comparison process.

Sustainability Rating

Description

Funds in this category are clearly leaders in the sustainable investment market. They demonstrate outstanding sustainable investment research processes and apply a detailed set of environmental, social and governance criteria to build their portfolio. This results in high-quality portfolio in terms of sustainable value-added. Moreover their level of transparency regarding their approach is aligned with best practice.

The sustainability quality of the funds in this category is competitive. Appropriate processes are implemented to deliver portfolios with sustainable value-added. Nevertheless, funds in this category could show some improvements in some areas of our analysis.

Funds this category show several weaknesses in their sustainable investment approach. The insufficiency can be in one or many of the following: research and implementation processes, sustainability characteristics of the portfolio, exercise of voting rights, sustainability reporting.

Funds in this category have a minimalist approach to sustainable investment. Numerous weaknesses appear in the quality of their research processes, such as insufficent allocation of resources or team experience, lack of clarity in the environmental, social and governance criteria used. This results in portfolios with limited sustainable value-added.

Funds in this category are clearly laggards in the sustainable investment markets in terms of their depth of approach and resources allocated to the processes. They just qualify to be part of our research.